This application is an originally filed U.S. patent application and has no relation to other U.S. or foreign filed applications, provisional patents, patents or invention registrations.
The present invention relates to guiding cutting torches to permit accurate cutting operation for gas or plasma cutting torches.
It is a challenge for even skilled craft workers to accurately and consistently operate a cutting torch by hand. Hand held cutting torches should be held at a desired angle to the work piece to encourage pre-heating of the workpiece. This angle should be maintained in a plane that is perpendicular to the workpiece surface. Further, it is difficult to maintain the desired angle and follow a prescribed cutting line at the same time. Even the very experienced worker will usually produce an uneven cut that will require time consuming grinding or other finish work.
It is also a challenge to consistently maintain a cutting torch tip at a consistent desired height from the workpiece surface. If the torch is too close to the workpiece, sputtering and torch xe2x80x9cpoppingxe2x80x9d can occur, creating a form of slag or spattered metal on the workpiece that usually must be removed by grinding. If the torch is too far from the workpiece, spattering may also occur, or the cut may not adequately penetrate the workpiece. Thus, torch height is another consideration along with torch angle and movement control that adds to the frustration often experienced by those attempting to use a cutting torch by hand.
The above problem has been recognized to a limited degree by others who have developed various forms of cutting torch guides. Many known forms of torch attachments of guides have one or more surfaces that can be moved against a guide surface, but which will allow substantial opportunity for misalignment or spacing with respect to the workpiece. Such attachments have various drawbacks, but primarily simply fail to hold the cutting torch with repeatable accuracy in substantially all the above identified angular and spatial attitudes with respect to a workpiece.